Test-meal palatability alters the effects of intragastric fat but not carbohydrate preloads on intake and rated appetite in healthy volunteers.

Manipulations of test meal palatability and nutritional need-state to examine feeding behaviour have, to date, been studied in isolation. Recent investigations have attempted to examine these influences in combination. In the present study, healthy young males received intragastric infusions of soup (265 or 1514 kJ) on four different occasions. The infusion was shortly followed by a meal varying in its palatability (PALATABLE or BLAND). The effect of macronutrient type (CHO or Fat) in the high-energy preloads was also examined in a between-subject manner. High CHO preloads significantly decreased test meal intake and this decrease was unaffected by meal palatability. High fat preloads did not significantly reduce test meal intake. Additionally, more food was consumed following high fat preloads when the test meal was PALATABLE. Within-meal ratings of appetite revealed that hunger was diminished to a greater extent by CHO than by Fat preloads. Appetite was stimulated by the PALATABLE meal to a greater extent in the group receiving Fat than in those receiving the CHO preload. Comparison with a similar oral preloading study revealed differences that suggest possible interactions between cognitive, oro-sensory and gastric controls of feeding when palatable foods are consumed.